Man fled police as he wanted to see his Wordsley mother on Christmas Day, court hears

Samuel Bridge, aged 24, later told police he had fled after being talked down from the loft of a Bromsgrove flat because he wanted to see his mother, who lives in Wordsley.

Police eventually caught Bridge after a chase through a churchyard when he jumped over a small wall - Harpreet Sandhu, prosecuting, told Worcester Crown Court.

Bridge, now living with his mother in Lawnswood Road, admitted obstructing a police constable and being in breach of a suspended prison sentence imposed for burglary at sheltered accommodation for elderly people in Bromsgrove.

Judge Richard Rundell fined him £500 for obstructing police and ordered him to do 100 hours unpaid work in the community for breaching the 18-month prison sentence, which had been suspended for two years in 2013.

Mr Sandhu said police were called to Sampson Court, Worcester Road, Bromsgrove, at 9.30pm on December 24 after an allegation of domestic violence.

Police found Bridge was in the loft, holding down the hatch, but encouraged him to come down.

Pc James Hall then began to put him into the police car but Bridge ran off, still handcuffed, and ran along two streets, then through a churchyard, and jumped over a small wall where police were waiting in a car.

Bridge stopped running and lay down on the ground - Mr Sandhu said.

He later told officers he had wanted to see his mother on Christmas Day.

No action had been taken over the domestic violence complaint.

Mr Sandhu said Bridge had 17 convictions for 25 offences and the suspended sentence had been given after he stole cigarettes and a lighter worth £10 in a burglary at sheltered accommodation.

Diljit Bachada, defending, said Bridge had previously lived in Sampson Court and Dawson Road, Bromsgrove, but was now at his mother’s address and was working as an engineer.

Judge Rundell told Bridge he was not going to jail him because of the progress he had made, including finding work.